Matt Jones of San Bernardino was hiking with two other 15-year-old boys when he lost his footing and dropped about 400 feet, said Jack Dejong of the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
``The other two decided at that point they should just stay put,'' Dejong said. ``They had a cell phone, and they called for help.''
The 911 call came in about 10:30 a.m., Dejong said, but it took more than four hours before the boys were rescued by a helicopter.
Jones was motionless when emergency workers arrived and did not respond when they called to him before heading into the canyon, said sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers. He was dead when they reached him, Dejong said.
The canyon, near the town of Devore, had been burned in last year's wildfires and experienced mudslides in December, but Dejong said it was not clear if that was a factor in the accident.
Devore is about 12 miles from San Bernardino.
